1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to collaborative work by a plurality of participants using computers connected together via a network and, more particularly, to a consistent, real-time collaboration environment in which any type of data can be shared by the participants in a common work space.
2. Background Description
With the spread of the Internet and intranets, collaboration between persons and teams across remote sites is increasing. Collaboration tools can be divided into asynchronous and synchronous tools. Groupware, such as Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange, and discussion groups on a network where the data is changed batchwise are asynchronous tools. These do not require, nor do they take advantage of, simultaneous presence of many users in the environment. On the other hand, new sets of tools such as chat, whiteboards and more sophisticated environments, such as Same Time, allow for groups to interact simultaneously. These tools allow users and groups to work in a common work space at the same time in a synchronous, real-time fashion. Changes to the shared work space are made visible to all participants immediately.
Currently, synchronous tools are quite restrictive in the types of data that can be shared in the common work space. The work space for chat programs is a common text file which serves as a conversation log. The work space for whiteboards is a shared bitmap image. If a group wants to include, say, a spreadsheet in a discussion through a whiteboard, then they have to share the bitmap image of the spreadsheet and modify local copies of the spreadsheet manually in order to maintain synchrony between spreadsheet copies and the spreadsheet image in the collaborative discussion in the whiteboard. It has recently become possible to directly modify work spaces such as spreadsheets in real-time collaboration wherein synchrony in the work spaces is maintained automatically. However, these mechanisms tend to be work space specific and do not provide a general method for discussion all kinds of work spaces in real-time collaboration.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide effective real-time collaboration across remote sites in which any type of data can be shared in a common work space in a consistent manner.
According to the invention, there is provided a method for the standardized viewing, discussion, marking, and expert modification of all kinds of work spaces in real-time collaboration sessions. The method comprises a user interface based on a transparent annotation layer that can be built into any real-time collaboration system. The resulting collaboration system continues to work with all the work spaces that it could previously work with. The difference is that now it provides a transparent wrapper, called an annotation layer, through which participants view their work space.
By viewing the work space through the transparent wrapper, participants can mark or annotate the work space through the transparent wrapper. This does not modify the work space itself, doing which may require work space-specific expertise on the part of the participants. The markings allowed on the wrapper can be extensive, indeed much more than what is possible within the work space viewed through the wrapper. For example, the wrapper may allow circling parts of tables in a spreadsheet, writing on top of tables, and shading multiple regions in an ordinary text document. Participants with no expertise in any particular work space can take part in a collaboration session by working solely with the annotation layer and letting others deal with the expert details of modifying the work space itself.
At the option of the participants, the annotation layer can be synchronized with the work space underneath or it can be left unsynchronized. When the annotation layer is synchronized, then scrolling the annotation layer causes scrolling of the work space and vice versa. Expanding the work space by adding data to it also expands the annotation layer in the corresponding regions. Reducing the work space by deleting data from it also truncates the annotation layer in the corresponding regions, and so on. When the annotation layer is left unsynchronized, then scrolling the work space does not scroll the annotation layer, and modifying the work space does not correspondingly modify the annotation layer. Asynchrony between an annotation layer and the work space underneath can let the annotation layer serve as a static filter through which the work space can be seen in whole or in part. For example, participants may want to treat the annotation layer as a fixed-size, unmoving slide through which they view the work space as they scroll the work space.
Each participant may be allowed to choose to work with the annotation layer or with the work space underneath by specifying a mode of operation for himself or herself. In discussion mode, a participant can mark the annotation layer, move shared cursor(s), and change the view by scrolling or by going to a different part of the annotation layer. At the option of the participant, the work space can be visible through the transparent layer, or it can be invisible in this mode.
A participant cannot modify the shared work space while in the discussion mode. Edit mode provides a way for participants to expertly make work space modifications. Edit mode requires work space-specific expertise from a participant; that is, the participant has to know how to manipulate and/or modify the individual work space. At the option of the participant, the covering annotation layer can be visible or invisible in the edit mode. In both edit and discussion modes, the transparent layer and the work space underneath can be made synchronized or unsynchronized. The mode of any participant can be decided and/or changed by the participant alone, and/or by other participants. The participants with authority to control/restrict/change other participants"" modes can be a subset of the participants in the collaboration session. The subset can be changed through the collaboration session. Control over a participant""s mode is also control over the participant""s ability to read/write the shared work space. Any participant who has been granted the edit mode can write to the shared work space while any participant who has been restricted to the discussion mode can at most only read the shared work space.